'We now have an optimum opportunity to improve how we hire'




Earlier this month, Valorem Partners and Bridging & Commercial hosted a live online discussion to introduce an evolved way of recruiting using an organimetric tool.

The webinar, entitled ‘How to make every hire count in the new economy’, sought to explain specialist recruitment firm Valorem’s relationship with The GC Index®, and how it aims to address some of the challenges our industry faces when it comes to hiring. 

Faye Wilcox, co-founder of Valorem (pictured above), was joined by the founder of The GC Index®, Nathan Ott; John Franklin-Hackett, chief game-changer and partner of The GC Index®; and specialist mortgage broker Kim McGinley, founder of VIBE Finance, who had recently experienced The GC Index® process and analysis first-hand. 

Against the backdrop of Covid-19, businesses of all sizes have spent a large portion of this year taking stock, restructuring, and deciding the direction in which they want to go. 

“As we navigate the recovery period, we now have an optimum opportunity to improve how we hire . . . ensuring that [employees] are making their preferred impact and contribution to a team or business, whilst improving their health and wellbeing,” believes Faye.

The downturn in activity for most, at some stage, means that costs in relation to recruitment need to be seen a worthwhile investment. 

“Now, more than ever, start-ups and SMEs in particular will need to ensure that they can align their people and teams to achieve their business goals and objectives,” stated Faye. 

The effects of the pandemic have resulted in rapidly changing values, as well as new and remodelled ways of working that demand a workforce that is happy, switched on and committed, and whose health and wellbeing needs are met.

The GC Index® is all about impact, and the impression an individual can have on a company and its objectives. 

“It goes without saying that if you’re doing something that you love . . . and you feel that you are genuinely adding value, you’re going to be feeling at the top of your game,” said Faye, “more creative teams are generally more productive, they’re more successful.”

Valorem has adopted The GC Index® into its processes in order to add value and address some of the challenges our industry is set to come up against — and those that have been endemic for some time (such as a relatively high turnover and a skills shortage). 

Nathan was keen to emphasise that The GC Index® — which officially launched in 2017 after four years of research and is now used by 1,300 companies across 50 countries — was not a personality tool. 

“It is a business tool focussed on how individuals best want to contribute to a business outcome,” he explained.

He divulged that companies already measured several areas when making decisions around people, such as expertise (does this person have the skills required?); experience (have they done this before?); and personality (based on gut feel or the aforementioned tools). 

However, “the missing piece” is an assessment of the impact a person can make, and where their proclivities lie. 

To learn more about the five core proclivities as defined by The GC Index®, and at what levels the tool can be utilised, watch the clip below.

Focusing on an aspect that’s specifically relevant to our industry, the session’s host, Caron Schreuder, managing director at Medianett, asked Nathan about the competitive advantage that using The GC Index® might bring for businesses trying to gain market share. 

“Success is in the margins . . . so, you’re going to have to try something different,” Nathan responded. 

“Secondly . . . the experience that you get from aligning expectations with the individual makes for a much better, stickier, and competitive recruitment process.”

On the subject of the importance of health and wellbeing and feeling secure in the current environment, which can make people somewhat vulnerable, Nathan leant into the idea that people wanted to feel “potent”  and that The GC Index® enabled this. 

John agreed and pointed out the importance of showing individuals the tangible results of their efforts and rewarding them for the impact they are making.

Kim reported that she had already been able to implement changes within her business off the back of the analysis, and that the process had allowed her to understand herself and her leadership style much better.  

To listen and watch John discuss Kim’s GC Index® results with her, click here.  

The full webinar is available to watch, in which various applications of The GC Index® — such as at project level when introducing new technology — are discussed, as well as the practical logistics of putting a team through the process, and how to fill ‘impact gaps’ by using the tool. 

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